An Earling, Iowa resident has been sentenced to four months in federal prison for wire fraud. Mitch William Gross, 34, was found to have defrauded his employer, Ruan Transportation Corporation, by making personal purchases with business credit cards between September 2021 and October 2022.
Court documents show that Gross used the company’s credit cards to buy items such as prepaid gift cards, Pokemon cards, and gaming merchandise. He then submitted false receipts and misrepresented these charges on his expense reports so they would appear as legitimate business expenses. The total amount of fraudulent purchases exceeded $140,000.
Gross will also serve a three-year term of supervised release after completing his prison sentence. In addition to incarceration and supervision, he has been ordered to pay $146,590.15 in restitution. There is no parole in the federal system.
“This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Des Moines Police Department,” said United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal following an investigation led by federal and local law enforcement agencies.
